A New Short Film That Takes Place Within A Computer Desktop Reveals How Teens Really Spend Time Online

"Noah", the 17-minute film that premiered at the Toronto
International Film Festival this week, is unlike anything
you've seen before in a movie, but so much like what many of
us see on our computers every day.

We learn of a relationship, thanks to the background photo on his
desktop. Through Noah's perspective, we see the way the
couple communicates, either in Facebook chat or Skype, having
important conversations (like ones about the future, and
college):

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While our protagonist seems present in the moment, we see he's
simultaneously engaged in a slew of activities, like chatting
with friends (named Kanye East, a nice touch from the
filmmakers), looking at cat photos, or gawking at porn.

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The film takes us through the actions following that Skype
conversation; wordless actions set to the steady rhythm of chat
notifications, iTunes music, and alerts. Sounds so familiar and
part of our daily online routine that they were nearly impossible
to discern from the realtime melodies coming from our own
desktops as we watched. Actions so commonplace that their gravity
is not always realized until it's too late.

In an interview with Business Insider, creators Woodman and
Cederberg said they were able to make with film without spending
a penny, a feat nearly unheard of in the Film Festival
circuit.

We shot everything on webcams in our apartments. We also
had made all the fake Facebook accounts and had been running
about six fake Facebooks for just over 6 months to make it
realistic.

Realistic, yes. It almost feels too real, a sign
that "Noah"is truly a 17-minute cautionary tale
of digital culture.